20 September 2009

Hinekaa Mako and Nga Pūhi Mike Smith want to do with their documentary He Ao Wera: Climate Change in Aotearoa what Al Gore did with An Inconvenient Truth. That is, highlight the damaging impact of climate change. For a period of 18 months the pair traversed the North Island of Aotearoa documenting the effects extreme weather patterns were having from the point of view of rural Māori communities. Marrying this evidence with Science expertise provided by Dr James Renwick, Dr Charlotte Severn(NIWA - National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) and Eric Brenstrum(Meteorological Service) the result is a 45 minute documentary suggesting that for Māori the true demonstration of tino rangatiratanga lies in Māori controlling their own food and water production.

In conjunction with the NIWA, Hongoeka Development Trust Limited, are doing their best to interest Māori in aquaculture by farming paua. Maraea Rakuraku tours the premises with staff Tama Parata and Wally Turvey.

When Te Māori toured Chicago, New York and San Francisco in 1984 many museum conventions were turned on their head, especially conventions around kai. Rather than the standard wine and cheese affairs, opening ceremonies took place at dawn and were always followed by parakuihi (breakfast). Twenty five years later Te Ahi Kaa is at a commemorative breakfast at Waiwhetu Marae in Wellington where Minister of Maori Affairs - Dr Pita Sharples, Victoria University's Māori Pro Vice-Chancellor Piri Sciascia and Professor Graham Hingangaroa Smith reminisce about the exhibition.